He knows Pokémon better than me.

He was still a little puzzled, as Zarude hadn't used any of his signature moves throughout the entire battle—

Controlling vines should be considered a unique ability of the opponent, rather than a specific move.

He had initially thought that, like Shaymi, Zarude's signature move might require certain prerequisites to be effective.

"This is somewhat unexpected."

"Luca."

"Ruto."

Beside him, Lucario and Draco nodded in unison.

A ferocious-looking ape, whose special move is healing.
The treatment was indeed powerful; Zarude had no way to deal with Shaymi, who flew nimbly in the air, and Shaymi's attacks were completely blocked by Zarude.

But thanks to this healing technique, the balance of power began to gradually shift.

Snapped!
Before she knew it, Shemi was whipped hard across the cheek by a vine.

Although the damage wasn't severe, the pain was definitely real, and the red marks left on my face were extremely humiliating.

As Sarud continued to unleash his vine whips, Shemi's movements became increasingly chaotic, and he was frequently struck.

If they continue fighting like this, defeat is inevitable.

"Shaymi!"

This infuriated Shami, but compared to being beaten until his eyes turned into vortexes and he fainted and fell, he preferred to give up voluntarily.

That's right, it's abstention, not surrender!
Shemi suddenly sneezed again in the air, exhaling pink pollen mist, and her originally lithe and slender body instantly transformed into a round and chubby hedgehog.

Unable to fly, it plummeted straight down.

Then, Ash caught her steadily in his arms—

It was cunning; it deliberately flew over Ash's head and then deactivated its Sky Mode.

Holding the fluffy little bundle in his arms, Ash smiled helplessly.

Shaymi is not a combat-type mythical beast after all, and its exclusive moves have great limitations.

More than anything, it's a functional mythical beast.

“Saru!”

Seeing that Shemi had surrendered, Sarud grinned and revealed a mocking sneer.

However, once Shaymin reverted to his hedgehog form, his personality was no longer so aggressive, and his taunts were ineffective.

Zarude then approached, the fierce glint in her eyes still lingering, causing Lucario and Draco to narrow their eyes and immediately become wary.

This ferocious ape in front of us is very strong!
"Salut, Salut!!"

Sarud raised his ripped claws, bared his teeth in a show of defiance, and began to howl.

Although it is a mythical Pokémon, it is obviously unable to communicate telepathically or speak human language. Ash could only look to Lucario beside him for a translation.

Lucario understood and indirectly transferred the information to Ash through its aura.

"It called us despicable poachers and demanded that we return what we had stolen from the Okoa Forest."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhi frowned. Poachers?
Are there any such places in the Okoya Forest/Galar region?
Lucario and Shaymi exchanged a glance and shook their heads blankly.

During the days that Ash and Mr. Mime were away, they basically didn't leave the castle, at most just wandering around the wilderness area.

This ape is clearly not a Pokémon from this area, right?

"Wait a minute, we can talk this over. We didn't take anything from you."

Xiao Zhi quickly stepped forward and raised his hand to try to comfort him:
"However, we can help you find your lost item."

"Saruru!!"

Before he could finish speaking, Zarude suddenly roared and swung its claw at Ash. As a vicious ape inhabiting the primeval forest, it was extremely hostile to all Pokémon except its own kind, let alone humans.

This claw attack was no joke, and Ash immediately tensed up, his hand flying out like lightning to meet it.

Hey!
They preemptively grabbed Zarude's wrist, clamping it tightly to prevent his most dangerous claws from falling.

“Saru?”

Sarud was stunned, and it took him a long time to realize what had happened.

How could an ordinary human being grab his own wrist?
But the force transmitted through my wrist was undeniable, and for a moment I couldn't even break free.

"Calm down, we mean absolutely no harm, we can help."

Ash could only temporarily grab the other's wrist, but when he tried to calm him down, his words were interrupted again.

"Saru—!!"

Zarude suddenly opened its mouth and let out a thunderous roar, the sonic boom transforming into a semi-solid black shockwave that exploded in Ash's ears.

Shout it out loud!!
The sonic boom, almost at point-blank range, made his head buzz, his hair stand on end, and even weakened the force in his hands.

Even Lucario and Draco, who were standing nearby, were startled by the sudden loud voice and shook their heads vigorously.

The shockwave in her arms made Shami's face turn pale.
Fortunately, I wasn't hit by the loud roar from the front.

The only one that managed to dodge was Pikachu, which activated its Extreme Speed ​​and ran away the instant the opponent opened its mouth.

"Pikachu~"

Pikachu smirked. "Little monkey, trying to hit it is rather comical."

Zarude took the opportunity to break free from Ash's grasp and jumped back several steps to create distance.

"A loud roar with tremendous power."

After a while, Ash felt his eardrums throbbing. This ape was still too wary, making proper communication impossible.

"Salut, Salut!!"

Even after creating some distance, Zarud continued to bar his teeth and hiss, stubbornly demanding that they hand over what he had stolen.

Although they didn't know why the other party was convinced that they had taken the items, it seemed that there was only one way out at the moment.

"Luca!"

Lucario understood immediately and stepped forward before Pikachu could.

Since communication is impossible, just knock them unconscious, pin them to the ground, and then force them to communicate.

How dare they slander the watchtower castle for stealing things? As its guardian, it can't just sit idly by!
"Luca!"

Lucario clenched its fist and stepped forward, its eyes sharp. It wasn't going to be suppressed like Shaymin.

Sarud didn't care about any of that; today it was going to take down all these poachers!

"Saruru!!"

With a wave of his hand, the vines roared out again, like whips about to lash Lucario's face.

It's just a wolfhound, yet it dares to rival the imposing presence of mythical beasts?!
However, Lucario simply stood there coldly, without dodging, until the vine whip was about to hit it, at which point it suddenly raised its hand and grabbed the vine.

Then, with a strong pull, he dragged the 1.8-meter-tall Sarud off the ground, forcibly pulling his entire body towards him.

Xiao Zhi pointed and immediately commanded:
"Now! Wave missile!"

His idea was the same as Lucario's: since they couldn't communicate, they should just beat him up first!

Lucario, dragging the vine whip with one hand, conjured a wave missile with the other, preparing to slam the deep blue energy blast into Zarude's chest! (End of Chapter)